PCMA: New Study on Independent Pharmacy Reimbursements Will 'Raise Eyebrows' on Capitol Hill

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new report released by
the Office of Inspector General (OIG) on independent pharmacy payments in
Medicare Part D will "raise eyebrows" on Capitol Hill and runs counter to
claims from the independent drugstore lobby, the Pharmaceutical Care
Management Association (PCMA) said today.

"This report will raise eyebrows among policymakers who have been led
to believe that independent pharmacists were in dire straits because of the
Medicare drug benefit," said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt. "It runs
counter to rhetoric from the independent drugstore lobby on the need for
costly legislation granting pharmacies special antitrust exemptions and
payment cycles that are twice as fast as those received by doctors and
hospitals."

Among the key findings in the report:

-- Independent pharmacies are paid an average of 18 percent more by
Part D plans than their acquisition costs for medicine.

-- Two-thirds of community pharmacies belong to group purchasing
organizations that allow them to collectively bargain --- and achieve ---
higher Part D reimbursement rates.

According to a separate analysis by CRA International, pharmacy
antitrust exemptions would increase prescription drug costs for Medicare
and commercial payors by up to 11.8 percent or $29.6 billion over five
years. Legislation that would make Medicare prescription drug plans pay
drugstores twice as fast as Medicare pays other providers could cost the
program and its beneficiaries at least $3.1 billion over the next decade,
according to a recent study from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

PCMA is the national association representing America's pharmacy
benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more
than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune
500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.

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